Using a new way of analyzing brain-imaging data, scientists have mapped out how the complex networks of connections in the brain evolve as children age. The researchers are now using the technology to examine how brain development in children with specific disorders, such as autism, veers off the norm. Ultimately, researchers aim to use the technology to predict, for example, whether a child at risk for autism will actually develop the disorder, or what treatments might work best for that individual.
Previous research by the same team at the Washington University School of Medicine had shown that between age five and 30, the short-range connections in the brain tend to weaken, while longer-range connections get stronger. In the new study, scientists plotted the trajectory for normal brain development and showed for the first time that they could determine a child's development based on a brain scan.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Technology Review: Mapping How the Brain Matures
Author: Emily Singer
